The present invention relates generally to the field of electronic messaging, and more particularly to validating e-mails.
Electronic mail, most commonly referred to as email or e-mail, is a method of exchanging digital messages from an author to one or more recipients. Modern e-mail operates across the Internet or other computer networks. Some early e-mail systems required the author and the recipient to both be online at the same time, in common with instant messaging. Today's e-mail systems are based on a store-and-forward model. E-mail servers accept, forward, deliver, and store messages. Neither the users nor their computers are required to be online simultaneously; they need connect only briefly, typically to a mail server, for as long as it takes to send or receive messages.
An e-mail message generally includes at least three components, the message envelope, the message header, and the message body. The message header contains control information, including, minimally, an originator's e-mail address and one or more recipient addresses. Usually descriptive information is also added, such as a subject header field and a message submission date/time stamp.